Ex-DOJ Antitrust Chief Heads Back to Covington

The Justice Department’s antitrust chief will be going back to his former law firm, Covington & Burling.

Thomas Barnett resigned from his post in November and spent a few months relaxing with family and friends. Now he is going back to the law firm where he spent 14 years of his career, the Am Law Daily reports.

He spoke to the Am Law Daily from the Orlando Airport after a trip to Disney World with his children. “Covington really was the best place for me to go, with its international scope and breadth of expertise,” he told the publication.

Barnett headed the antitrust division for three years. He was known for aggressive enforcement of laws barring pricing conspiracies, but critics said he too-readily approved mergers between market-dominating companies.

Barnett’s division obtained one of the largest antitrust settlements in U.S. history last June when four international airlines agreed to pay $504 million to settle air-cargo price fixing charges, the Am Law Daily says.